The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

In
more than 80 countries across the world, fighting for the respect of
human rights is a high-risk activity, and groups and individuals who
engage themselves on this road are the preferred targets of authorities
and private groups who make use of enforced disappearances, summary
executions, arbitrary detention or torture to keep them quiet. With
variations across regions, this repression takes the form of stalking,
threats and intimidation, including towards their families, defamation
campaigns orchestrated by the official media, the forbidding of leaving
or returning to the country, harassment at work, arrests, arbitrary
detentions, ill-treatments and even murders. The impunity the authors of
these violations enjoy is particularly worrying.

The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in
1948 represented a definitive step, but it was not sufficient to ensure
that people who seek to enjoy the fundamental rights that are enshrined
in it – such as freedom of expression or of opinion – are protected from
repression by governments or private groups. Individuals also have to
be able to demand, in a risk-free context, that the rights in the
Declaration – as well as the international instruments that eventually
completed it – be respected. It is towards this goal that OMCT and other
NGOs mobilised to call for the adoption of a text that protects
these groups and individuals. This “Declaration on the Right and
Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote
and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms” was adopted in December 1998 during the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

There is no formal and exhaustive definition of who is a human
rights defenders, which prevents the formulation of an
overly-restrictive interpretation. Nonetheless, the Observatory has
decided to adopt the following “operational definition” in order to
demonstrate flexibility in its analysis of the admissibility of the
cases brought to its attention: “any person who risks or who is victim
of reprisals, harassment or violations because of his or her commitment,
be it individually or in association with others, in favour of the
promotion and the implementation of the rights recognised in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and guaranteed by various
international instruments.” Individually or as a member of an NGO, it
refers to people who, through peaceful means, investigate human rights
violations, inform the public, organise campaigns and transmit this
information. Lawyers who argue for the cause of political prisoners and
their right to a fair trial; mothers of the disappeared who protest to
obtain the truth on their fate; journalists; teachers; trade unionists
who fight for the respect of economic rights; rural and indigenous
communities who organise for the recognition of their rights;
organisations that fight against impunity… They can all be victims of
repression.

“Thank you very much for your enduring solidarity,
which was particularly precious when I was detained last year and which,
without a doubt, contributed to my acquittal last June. When one lives
in an authoritarian and obscurantist regime in a society paralysed by
fear, the thought of knowing that we are not forgotten in the bottom of
our cell brings light and a saving strength. Thanks to your support and
to others, I was able to continue my work defending human rights” – Defender, Syria.

What defines a defender is thus his or her commitment to civil and
political rights, but also to economic, social and cultural rights.

The risks defenders encounter are, among others, prison, harassment,
intimidation, torture, defamation, reprisals against their entourage,
and death. Also, too often, the NGO’s offices are targeted for attacks
during which their files are stolen and their computer material is
destroyed, thereby depriving them of their work tools.

These risks increase in situations of internal conflict, in
countries in which the judicial power does not enjoy the independence
required to punish the authors of violations and is instrumentalised to
obstruct defender activities.

Since the events of September 11, 2001, suspicion towards human
rights defenders has increased. Many governments have adopted
anti-terrorism legislation that curtails fundamental freedoms. The
terrorist threat could therefore be used to obstruct the legitimate and
peaceful work of human rights defenders. The risk of confounding the two
is real. Therefore, it is important to be vigilant so that the people
who, in the name of freedom of expression, raise their voices to defend
human rights, not be considered enemies of the State or accused of
undermining national security.

OMCT has played a pioneering role in the protection of human rights
defenders. The SOS-Torture Network is currently composed of 311 member
organisations with vary different mandates: organisations that fight for
the rights of children, women, indigenous groups, political prisoners,
etc. Thanks to the quantity and variety of its partners, OMCT has thus
been able, since its creation, to evaluate the fundamental role that
defenders play in the emergence of a dynamic civil society, as well as
the repression they are subjected to. It systematically denounces the
violence done against them, and has published two reports on violations
against human rights defenders, for the periods 1992-1996 and 1997.

In partnership with the FIDH, OMCT created the Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders in 1997. This unique collaboration
is based on the complementarity of each organisation’s approach and is
based on their respective NGO networks. In parallel, many meetings on
this subject have been held, culminating with Forum 1998, which brought
together more than 600 NGOs from 60 countries, just before the adoption
of the United Nations’ Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998.

OMCT and the Observatory have significantly contributed to the
creation of a mandate for the protection of human rights defenders
within the United Nations framework, as well as to the inclusion of this
issue on the agenda of major regional organisations (African
Commission, Inter-American Commission, OSCE, European Union, Council of
Europe, etc.). Raising the awareness of political decision-makers and of
public opinion has also been one of the main objectives of the work
accomplished to date.

The main objectives of the “Human Rights Defenders” Programme are:

To focus the international community’s
attention on cases of harassment and repression of human rights
defenders. Thanks to the Observatory and in collaboration with other
OMCT programmes, the “defenders” programme maintains a system of “urgent
interventions”. Every time the Observatory receives a report concerning
the repression of a defender, information is verified with its OMCT
and/or FIDH partners, and an action is launched as soon as possible in
the form of an urgent appeal, a press release or a letter to authorities, on a case by case basis.
Between 1997 and 2001, the Observatory prepared more than 600 urgent
interventions concerning approximately 1,000 defenders in more than 60
countries. These interventions have enabled the release of certain
defenders and the improvement of the situation of many of whom were
victims of harassment.

To offer concrete and personalised assistance via
international fact-finding missions, judicial observation and support
missions, solidarity missions, and the granting of material assistance to defenders and defender organisations.
Since the creation of the Observatory, more than 40 international
fact-finding missions and judicial observation and support missions have
been conducted. Fact-finding missions
aim to collect information on the situation of defenders in a given
country, and to make them public. Legal observation missions must bring
support to defenders that are the object of often-arbitrary prosecution,
so that all the guarantees of a just and equitable trial be respected,
and to alert the international community if need be. Material assistance
enables the evacuation of defenders who are in grave danger and
provides support for organisations that risk disappearing because of a
lack of means (e.g., following the destruction of their working material
during a raid).

To mobilise civil society and
international opinion through the elaboration, the publication and the
diffusion of reports on the violations of the rights and freedoms of
people or organisations working for human rights in the world. The Observatory publishes an annual report
that includes all the urgent interventions conducted during the year,
follow-up and thematic analysis on the situation of human rights
defenders. This work is presented during the Human Rights Council’s
session in Geneva. A monthly bulletin, which presents a summary of all
the actions undertaken in the previous month, is also widely diffused
and available on the Web site in three languages (French, English and
Spanish).

To promote and reinforce
international and regional mechanisms aimed at protecting defenders with
various intergovernmental, regional and international bodies, such as
the United Nations, the Organisation of American States, the African
Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the
Council of Europe and the European Union.